Syracuse football is at a critical point in its 2025 season. The Orange got off to a solid 3-1 beginning, saw its starting quarterback go down for the year, and then got blasted at home before a sell-out crowd against Duke.
Fans are calling for new quarterback Rickie Collins, a redshirt sophomore, to be benched after his first collegiate start. That's short-sighted. Even though Collins struggled against the Blue Devils, head coach Fran Brown said after the loss that he's "comfortable" with his QB1, adding, "I think he'll continue to get better. I mean, he can’t get worse, right?"
That's not entirely reassuring, but I get what Brown is saying. After a 38-3 domination by Duke on the road, the Orange's quarterback play has to improve, but that's not the only area where the 'Cuse must get better if the team wants to have a successful 2025 campaign, particularly since several tough road Atlantic Coast Conference encounters lurk on the horizon.
Here's what Syracuse football must do to win in week six and beyond.
Give the ball to Yasin Willis more
The sophomore running back had 11 carries for 67 yards. That's roughly six yards per carry. Brown said in his post-game press conference that Willis needs more touches than that, and I agree. With the Orange in a big hole to Duke, it's understandable to roll out more of a passing attack. However, Willis is a beast, and the 'Cuse offense must possess better balance.
Reduce the turnovers
In the loss to the Blue Devils, Collins had an interception. He also had a fumble that he recovered. Junior wide receiver Johntay Cook II had two fumbles. That can't happen. Turnovers are drive killers, and the 'Cuse defense was already gassed from being on the field so much. On the flip side, the Syracuse football defense has to get takeaways of its own to provide Collins, who needs time to settle in, with short fields.
Clean up the silly mistakes
The Blue Devils were called for way more penalties despite their blowout victory, while the Orange committed four penalties for 55 yards. Still, the 'Cuse has to be as sound as possible in the penalty arena. What's more, there were several times when Duke kicked off to Syracuse football, and the Orange didn't do a good job on these kickoffs, resulting in poorer field position to start offensive drives.
Oh, the defense
What can I say? The defense was dreadful against the Blue Devils after faring well in the road upset of Clemson in week four. Duke racked up more than 500 yards and scored 38 points at the Dome. Syracuse football defenders missed tackles, didn't set the edge well enough, had poor pass coverage and didn't get enough consistent pressure on the Blue Devils' talented quarterback, Darian Mensah. Even though the Orange allowed a ton of yards to Clemson, the 'Cuse stuffed the Tigers on third and fourth downs. Duke, meanwhile, was 6-of-13 on third down and 2-of-2 on fourth down. If the Orange doesn't shore up its defense, this team won't win many more games in 2025.
Better quarterback and OL play
The 'Cuse offensive line hasn't been consistently good in the current campaign. It has had its moments, but the OL isn't a strength of this squad. Collins, and the run game, need help from the offensive line. In particular, Collins needs more time to make his throws. But he also has to improve his decision-making. He has to take better care of the ball. And Collins must distribute his passes more evenly among all his tight ends and wide receivers. In his post-game presser, Collins acknowledged that he's got work to do. "Any quarterback, you have to limit turnovers and mistakes ... Don’t kill our momentum," he said.
Remain calm and carry on
With the quarterback change and the bad loss on Saturday, it would be easy for Syracuse football players and coaches to panic, but Brown says the team has to just regroup and move on, while not harping on the Duke setback. In his tenure as the Orange's head coach, Brown hasn't yet lost two games in a row. Plus, last year, after Pittsburgh destroyed the 'Cuse at home, Syracuse football went 5-1 the rest of the way to finish at 10-3 overall. Yes, Syracuse football's upcoming schedule is brutal, but the Orange's 2025 season is far from over. I'm sure that Brown will remind his team of that this week before traveling to Dallas to face SMU next Saturday.